We know that nationally one in five college students is parenting
, but the data is harder to come by at the institutional level because most schools do not track the parenting status of their students. This means they do not know how many student parents are on their campus, and the needs and unique experiences of these students are likely to be overlooked.
At Generation Hope, a nonprofit I founded in 2010, we work with teen parents who are attending colleges in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Every day, we see their resilience, determination, talents, and skills. In supporting them at 20 different two and four-year colleges across the region, we also see the missed opportunities within higher ed to engage with and learn from this highly motivated group of students.
Generation Hope Scholar Alumna, Tanazia, at her graduation from Trinity Washington University with her son.It is critical that student parents have the tools and resources they need to vote and the opportunities to be involved in institution-wide initiatives that support civic engagement. Here are five ways colleges and universities can make this possible: If your institution has a working group or committees related to voting and civic engagement, make sure a student parent is a member.
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